Tag Archives: Stanmore Resources

NRW Holdings’ Action Drill & Blast wins South Walker Creek contract

NRW Holdings Limited says its wholly-owned subsidiary, Action Drill & Blast Pty Ltd, has been awarded a five-year drilling contract by Stanmore Resources SMC Limited at its South Walker Creek mine.

The contract, valued at circa A$65 million ($41 million) over the five years, is due to commence in November 2022 and will leverage a workforce of some 35 personnel.

South Walker Creek is an open-pit mine, some 35 km west of Nebo in Queensland’s Bowen Basin. The mine has been operating since 1996 and adopts a multi-bench, open-pit mining method using a dragline, and truck and hydraulic excavators.

With a mine life of 25-plus years, South Walker Creek produced 4.9 Mt of high-quality low volatile PCI coal in the 2021 financial year.

Stanmore Resources acquired BHP’s 80% interest in BMC in May 2022, becoming the operator of South Walker Creek.

Bis bolsters Bowen Basin presence with Stanmore Isaac Downs contract

Bis says it is bolstering its presence in Queensland’s Bowen Basin region through a new off-road haulage contract with Stanmore Resources.  

The multi-year contract award, which follows a competitive tender process, will see Bis deliver load and haul services between Stanmore’s Isaac Downs mine in the state and the nearby coal handling and and processing plant (CHPP) facility.

Isaac Downs is an open-pit metallurgical coal mine expected to produce up to approximately 35 Mt of run of mine coal over 16 years.

A bespoke haulage solution comprising high payload haulage combinations was developed in-house at Bis for the project, which will be supported by a range of ancillary assets and services, it said. 

Bis Chief Executive Officer, Brad Rogers, said he was delighted to be welcoming Stanmore Resources as an important new customer. 

“Our companies share similar strategic goals, so I am thrilled we are supporting Stanmore – a dynamic resources leader with a strong track record of safety, productivity and innovation – into the next critical phase of the Isaac Downs project. 

Bis has a long, demonstrable history of delivering bespoke and cost effective haulage solutions that are uniquely customer specific and grounded on a stringent safety approach.  

“These factors, coupled with a commitment to active site management and supervision will be fundamental in ensuring we not only meet, but exceed Stanmore’s expectations.”

Commenting on the contract award, Marcelo Matos, Stanmore Resources’ Chief Executive Officer, said the Bis solution offered an industry-leading approach combined with highly beneficial local expertise.    

The contract award continues what has been a big start to 2022 for Bis following recently secured contracts for Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) in New South Wales, as well as another new Bowen Basin contract for Anglo American’s Capcoal operations near Middlemount, it said.

Rogers added: “This contract comes at an exciting time for Bis as we cement our presence in key markets and maintain our unwavering focus on delivering value every day for our customers.”

Mobilisation of the new Stanmore Resources Isaac Downs contract has already commenced. 

BHP to sell stakes in Poitrel and South Walker Creek met coal mines to Stanmore

BHP has signed a Share Sale and Purchase Agreement to divest its 80% interest in BHP Mitsui Coal (BMC), an operated metallurgical coal joint venture in Queensland, Australia, to Stanmore SMC Holdings Pty Ltd.

Stanmore SMC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Stanmore Resources Limited, has agreed to acquire 100% of the shares in Dampier Coal (Queensland) Pty Ltd from BHP Minerals Pty Ltd, the subsidiary which holds BHP’s interest in BMC, for cash consideration of up to $1.35 billion. The purchase price comprises $1.1 billion cash on completion, $100 million in cash six months after completion and the potential for up to $150 million in a price-linked earnout payable in the 2024 calendar year.

The sale is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including customary competition and regulatory approvals. This includes approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board. Completion is expected to occur in the middle of the 2022 calendar year.

The BMC portfolio includes significant infrastructure including an 8.4 Mt/y coal handling and processing plant (CHPP) at South Walker Creek (pictured), the 9 Mt/y Red Mountain CHPP (fully owned by BMC) in close proximity to the Poitrel operations, two rail loops and train loading facilities, two Marion 8050 draglines, and a fleet of excavators, dozers and haul trucks, Stanmore said.

BHP Group Limited operates BMC as part of an 80:20 joint venture with Mitsui.

BHP intends to continue operating BMC until completion and work closely with Stanmore Resources to ensure a successful transition of ownership. It will provide certain transitional services to Stanmore Resources for a short period of time after completion.

BHP’s President Minerals Australia, Edgar Basto, said: “This transaction is consistent with BHP’s strategy, delivers value for our company and shareholders and provides certainty for BMC’s workforce and the local community. As the world decarbonises, BHP is sharpening its focus on producing higher quality metallurgical coal sought after by global steelmakers to help increase efficiency and lower emissions.

“South Walker Creek and Poitrel are well-run assets that have been an important part of our portfolio for many years and we are grateful for their contribution to BHP.

“Under this agreement, BMC will transition to Stanmore Resources, an ASX-listed company that has established relationships with Traditional Owners and strong engagement with their workforce and local communities. Stanmore Resources share our focus on safety performance and culture and support Australia’s commitments under the Paris Agreement.”

Stanmore Resources’ existing assets in Queensland’s Bowen Basin include the Isaac Plains Mine and processing facilities, the adjoining Isaac Plains East and Isaac Downs mining areas and the Isaac Plains Underground Project.

BHP, meanwhile, said the review process for its New South Wales Energy Coal is progressing, in line with the two-year timeframe announced in August 2020.

Komatsu to help PIMS Group with Millennium and Mavis Downs underground transition

A new agreement between Komatsu and PIMS Group, a north Queensland-based mining services operator, could help set a benchmark for extending the life of multiple Queensland coal mines, the pair say.

PIMS Group was recently awarded a five-year contract to convert the idled open-pit Millennium and Mavis Downs coal mines, west of Mackay, Queensland, to underground operations, which could ultimately result in an estimated 1.2 Mt/y of incremental coal extraction. Komatsu will sell PIMS Group new mining equipment for the project, and will provide a comprehensive maintenance, parts, rebuild and engineering support service to ensure the companies’ joint objectives are effectively supported, it said.

Komatsu will provide a full-time preventative maintenance team at the mine sites to help maximise the operation of the eight pieces of equipment now on order, including two 12CM27 continuous miners, four 10SC32 shuttle cars, one feeder breaker and one multibolter. Delivery of the Komatsu machines is due in mid-2022 to coincide with PIMS Group’s conversion of the Mavis Downs site to underground operation, which will be followed soon after by conversion of the Millennium site.

Millennium and Mavis Downs are owned by MetRes, a 50:50 joint venture between Stanmore Resources and M Resources. M Mining, a subsidiary of M Resources, is the joint venture manager and operator.

Rob Rogers, Vice President of Underground Soft Rock for Komatsu in Australasia, said the success of the three-way venture with PIMS Group and MetRes depended on total confidence of each partner to reliably deliver in its area of expertise. Rogers said the arrangement aligns well with Komatsu’s focus on ‘creating value together’, an initiative intended to secure long-term customer solutions, particularly to the benefit of society and communities.

The MetRes rejuvenation alone has the potential to create up to 100 mine construction jobs and result in more than 125 direct full-time mining jobs, according to the companies.

MetRes Chairperson, Matt Latimore, says a partnership and risk-sharing approach, together with the potential for substantial local employment opportunities, had been paramount in PIMS Group winning its bid to operate the infrastructure of both mines.

MetRes has initially worked to reopen the mines using auger and open-pit methods, with production of first coal already achieved in September 2021. According to MetRes, underground expansion will be economically achieved through the mines’ existing highwalls, yielding low-ash, high-quality metallurgical coal used in the production of steel globally.

Rehabilitation of the open-pit sites will coincide with the switch to underground operations. With underground activity, Millennium and Mavis Downs share a current predicted additional mine life of 12 years, producing 13.9 Mt of metallurgical coal.

PIMS’ contract with the mines’ owners is the largest undertaken by the north Queensland group.

Blue Energy investigates potential to power Isaac Plains fleet on hydrogen

Blue Energy Ltd says it has executed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Stanmore Resources Ltd that could see mine gas converted to hydrogen to power Stanmore’s Isaac Plains Complex equipment fleet.

The latest MoU relates to future pilot production activities at Stanmore’s ATP 814 tenement in the Bowen Basin of Queensland, Australia, but it builds on a previously announced non-binding MoU for the commercialisation of mine gas from Stanmore’s proposed underground operation adjacent to ATP814.

The gas used by Blue for conversion to hydrogen will be pilot gas which would otherwise be flared, and this trial project will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Blue’s activities and also reduce diesel fuel usage by Stanmore which, in turn, reduces the CO2 produced by the combustion cycle of their fleet of vehicles, Blue said. The company is currently investigating off-the-shelf modular hydrogen generation equipment that is portable and able to be installed either centrally or at the well head, with the hydrogen generated transported in purpose-built cylinders to Stanmore’s Isaac Plains Complex site for use in their vehicle fleet.

Blue Energy’s Managing Director, John Phillips, said: “Being able to avoid flaring of pilot gas production by converting it to hydrogen is a step forward in reducing emissions prior to gas developments, and, in this case, has the added bonus of also lowering emissions from neighbouring mining operations.”

Blue is in the process of establishing technology partners for this hydrogen trial and, now with a foundation hydrogen offtaker secured, is confident the use of blue hydrogen from its pre-development activities is a positive step toward lowering the greenhouse gas emission footprint of the Bowen Basin coal mining precinct.